These sourdough hot dog buns are light, fluffy, and packed full of flavor. They are super easy to make and will take your next family barbecue up a notch.
Summer has arrived in Missouri. We’ve had multiple very hot days already, but thankfully, it feels like the typical Missouri June weather is coming back.
These types of days call for a hot dog roast over a fire or BBQ. Since this is the first summer ever with a back porch, fire pit, and grill, we are totally living it up. We’ve had so much fun building family memories out there already.
How do you elevate regular ol’ hot dogs? Make some sourdough hot dog buns to serve them in! Delicious, tangy, and healthier than the store-bought bun, they are also pretty darn easy.
I understand that hot dogs are not necessarily a “health food”, but people aren’t usually choosing hot dogs to eat healthier.
They can, however, make a fun and delicious meal on occasion. We love choosing grass-fed hot dogs for a healthier option.
Most of the steps for the sourdough hot dog rolls are done the night before, so the day of, you just roll the dough, allow to rise one more time, and bake.
For a long time, when a long-fermented recipe called for eggs, I would wait until after the bulk fermentation to add the eggs, which can be tricky.
More recently, I’ve just been adding the egg when I’m mixing the dough, and it has been totally fine. But this will totally depend on your comfort zone. I’ve done this ten times now, and we’ve been fine.
Tips For Making Sourdough Hot Dog Buns
- This recipe can be fermented overnight for the most health benefits, or can be made into a quicker version for when you don’t have as much time.
- Make sure your sourdough starter is nice and bubbly. A active starter is what is going to give this bread its rise.
- If you buns are not rising the dough could be over-proofed, under proofed, or the temperature was too cold during rising. Also, if your starter is not super active it can take longer for the dough to rise.
- If you are new to sourdough, make sure to see how to make your own sourdough starter and how to care for it.
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What is the best bread for hot dogs?
Sourdough bread is, in my opinion, the best bread for hot dogs. This is because it adds so much flavor and is fermented, making the bread more nutritious.
Ingredients
- Sourdough starter – active and bubbly
- Warm water
- Unbleached all-purpose flour
- Coconut oil or butter – or any neutral tasting oil
- Honey
- Salt
- Eggs
Tools
Grain mill to grind fresh grain (optional)
Measuring cups
Parchment paper
How To Make Sourdough Hotdog Buns
The Day Before
Feed sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting the dough. You want the starter to be really active and bubbly before it starts to come down.
In a stand mixer, add warm water, unbleached all-purpose flour, melted butter or another neutral tasting oil, sourdough starter, honey, salt and egg.
Knead with a dough hook for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap for 8-10 hours.
Optional: For a longer fermentation, transfer the dough to the refrigerator and chill overnight, covered.
The Next Day
Divide the dough into ten equal pieces. I like to use a bench scraper.
Shape the hotdog buns by rolling the dough out with a rolling pin to form a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle and then roll them up.
Cover the buns with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and allow to rise until doubled.
Create an egg wash by beating an egg yolk with water, then brush the tops of the buns with the mixture.
Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.
For A “Quicker” Version
- In a stand mixer with a dough hook, add sourdough starter, warm water, all purpose flour, melted butter or coconut oil, honey, egg, and salt. Knead for 5-10 minutes.
- Shape buns and let rise until doubled, approximately 1-2 hours.
- Create egg wash and brush on top of the shaped buns.
- Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven until lightly browned on top, approximately 25-30 minutes.
- Let cool completely before slicing and serving.
Find More Sourdough Recipes:
- Easy Sourdough Challah Recipe
- Sourdough Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler
- Sourdough Grilled Cheese
- Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- Easy Homemade Sourdough Pasta Recipe
- Sourdough Zucchini Bread
Sourdough Hot Dog Buns
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter, 100 grams, active and bubbly
- 3/4 cup warm water, 177 grams
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, 420 grams
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter, 56 grams
- 3 tablespoons honey, 63 grams
- 1 teaspoon salt, 5 grams
- 1 large egg
Egg wash (optional)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Feed sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting the dough so it is nice and bubbly for baking.
- In a stand mixer, add warm water, unbleached all-purpose flour, melted butter or another neutral tasting oil, sourdough starter, honey, salt and egg.
- Knead with a dough hook for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap for 8-10 hours.
- Divide the dough into ten equal pieces.
- Shape the hotdog buns by rolling the dough out with a rolling pin to form a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle and then roll them up.
- Cover the buns with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and allow to rise until doubled.
- Create an egg wash by beating an egg yolk with water, then brush the tops of the buns with the mixture.
- Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.
Notes
- Optional: For a longer fermentation, transfer the dough to the refrigerator and chill overnight, covered after the first bulk fermentation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve been using your site farm house on Boone since November 2025.
I’ve been learning so much about sour dough starter, and bread making! We don’t buy bread anymore, and we make the pizza dough too, we love the pizza making!
We just started making your hot dog rolls! Use them for sandwiches also! Using the discard for a number of things as much as possible! Love your site, thank you!!
Last time we made rolls I rolled out a couple and put in some sweet Italian sausage! Came out better then the actual sausage bread I made!!
Baked this today. I did not knead the dought but did stretch and fold every 45 minutes 3 times. Proofed overnight on the counter top depending on the temperature. Divided the dought into 6 buns. Pre-heated the oven at 420F with pan of water at the bottom, baked for 10 minutes. Turned the temperature to 400F and baked additional 10 minutes. They came out soft ans smelling delicious. Great recipe, thank you!
Has anyone tried making these with an egg substitute? I have a son with an egg allergy but want to do hot dogs for camping. Thought I would try some homemade hot dog buns to prepare ahead of time. Thanks.
Can I just knead with my hands?
Sure!
As mentioned by others, initially the dough was sticky, but I slowly added (about a Tbsp at a time) approximately an extra 100 grams of flour as I kneaded in my Kitchenaid mixer. Once the dough was not sticking to the sides I continued kneading for a few minutes until it passed the window pane test. After the first raise, the dough was beautiful! So soft and fluffy! They are doing the second raise right now and I can tell they will be perfect with our Bratwurst for dinner. Thank for this recipe. It is definitely going in my file.
This turned out great! I didn’t do the egg wash, but forgot to put the oil in the bowl for the long ferment, but I added oil onto the plastic wrap for the 2nd rise. I had to put them in the fridge for about 8 hrs then let them out for an hour before i baked. It worked out i think. What’s the best way to store these? We won’t be eating them all tonight.
Thank you for the recipe!
I like to let them cool completely and store them in a zip-lock bag.
Made these today with coconut oil and they were excellent! Perfect hot dog bun, and my toddler is even using the leftover buns for “fancy sandwiches.” Very simple to make and full of flavor! I’m never buying hot dog buns again 🙂
OMG I made these but added shredded cheddar when forming the buns. Turned out perfect.
These are absolutely excellent! I did order an USA PAN hot dog bun pan as I knew I wanted to make these on repeat. The pan worked out great, also. Thanks for having great, reliable recipes!
My dough was sticky. Stuck to the rolling pin and my hands like crazy! What did I do wrong or if that’s normal how to we deal with? I ended up adding so much flour and they turned out okay but I don’t want to add flour to a fermented dough. Thank you
If your dough was overly sticky, that can be a sign that the dough became over fermented. Next time try fermenting for less time and see if that helps!